Ok, I was reading an article about tired cliches used in sitcoms. One of the items was the old “evil Twin” or using the same actor to play two roles. They referenced of course Phoebe and Ursula, but they also referenced the Friends episode where Rachel dated a guy just like Ross whose name was Russ.
What I want to know was that David Schwimmer playing both parts? I remember it as two different actors.
What’s the straight dope?
E3
It was David Schwimmer playing both roles thanks to the magic of blue screen.
I remember it as David Schwimmer playing both parts - he actually parodied himself quite well!
Yes, they were both David Schwimmer, and quite obviously too.
Ursula wasn’t created as an evil twin for Pheobe, though. Lisa Kudrow had established Ursula as a recurring character on Mad About You before Friends even started, and it eventually occured to someone to try a crossover, even if it meant making a few minor retcons to Pheobe’s backstory.
Schwimmer was credited under some odd name, though, for playing Russ. Anybody remember what it was?
Snaro (see “Notable TV Guest Appearances” #28).
That must be why a friend of mine kept insisting that it was NOT David Schwimmer, even though it so obviously was.
There was something about “Russ” that made me think he was being played by someone else also.
Russ’s face was a little different. It was a great make-up job, but at first I figured it was maybe a cousin or something.
–Cliffy
Heh, I thought it was somebody else too.
A great makeup job? His face was about as realistic as Rimmer from Red Dwarf. It was like a Ken doll head.